Organization

University Innovation Fellows (UIF)

Roles

UIGuide (May 2019 - December 2022)

Fellow (September 2016 - May 2019)

Skills

Design & Facilitation

Overview

The University Innovation Fellows program is a global movement to ensure that all students gain the attitudes, skills and knowledge required to navigate a complex world.

After going through a 6-week design thinking training, I became a fellow in the fall 2017 during my sophomore year of college.

I became the Fellows Director at Elon University where I drafted a membership agreement for fellows at Elon, recruited 8 new fellows, and helped create a business + STEM speaker series.

After graduating in spring 2019, I became a UIGuide. I facilitate the 6-week design thinking training that I went through for new cohorts. I've guided 5 cohorts of UIF candidates over the past 3 years.

This program gives me life. It is energizing to walk back through the curriculum in a teacher/mentor capacity each year as I am able to see design in a new light from the perspective of those learning the concepts for the first time. It's equally energizing to connect with current undergrads who are eager to build a better future. I continue to mentor them after training to ensure that they are best suited to succeed as fellows long past their time as college students.

Intro to Design Thinking presented by UIF.

Challenges Faced as a Fellow (September 2016-May 2019)

• Lost Momentum
• At Elon, UIF would have a lot of energy coming off of training, but then we would lose it and not apply our new skillsets on-campus.

• There were 2 factors specific to our university's culture that lead to lost momentum amongst UIF cohorts:
  
  

1. Most fellows train in their sophomore year.
2. Most Elon students study abroad in the fall semester of their junior year.

• The energy and momentum generated would come to a halt because, after leaving campus in May of their sophomore year, they would not return to campus for 8 months until January of their junior year.

• Gap Between Business + STEM
• Elon announced it's mission to facilitate cross-collaboration between STEM and business students through a new innovation quad.

• Elon's business school is well-established and houses the largest number of students compared to the other schools on-campus. Most STEM programs at Elon are new and relationships between business/STEM have not been established.

Solutions Implemented as a Fellow (September 2016-May 2019)

• Lost Momentum -> Membership Agreement
• I facilitated the creation of a membership agreement for UIF at Elon. All Elon fellows met bi-weekly over the course of 2 months, designing a new iteration each time until we had something that everyone had a hand in writing and everyone agreed upon.

• The agreement established a common set of values that defined us, set the expectations of all fellows, and established new leadership roles.

• All members of UIF at Elon had a hand in writing the document and all members signed the agreement.

• Gap Between Business + STEM -> Business + STEM Speaker Series
• We performed user research by talking to students across campus about what they wanted to learn about business + STEM. Students said that they wanted to hear from industry leaders who were working within business + STEM.

• As a result of our research, we designed a speaker series where students from all disciplines across campus could come and hear from industry leaders working at the intersection of business/STEM.

• We facilitated a communal environment where students could come hang out and enjoy s'mores. That way, students not only learned from the industry leader but also connected with one another.

Impact Delivered as a Fellow (September 2016-May 2019)

• Lost Momentum -> Membership Agreement -> Enhanced Accountability
• The result of the agreement was enhanced ownership and accountability. We knew when folks intended to study abroad and adapted around their academic schedules.

• Fellows on-campus knew what their role was, what was expected of them, and how they could rely on others to accomplish a common goal. This directly lead to the execution of our Business & STEM speaker series.

• The agreement I led in May 2018 has resulted in sustainable change. Fellows at Elon continue to operate using the values, leadership roles, and standards laid out in the membership agreement.

• Gap Between Business & STEM -> Business + STEM Speaker Series -> Interdisciplinary Relationships
• The speaker series allows for cross-discipline relationship building amongst students/faculty, increased connection between the university/industry leaders, and serves as a great recruiting opportunity for potential new fellows.

• This initiative resulted in sustainable change. Fellows at Elon continue to facilitate the Business + STEM speakers series once a semester.
  

Photos from the Business + Stem Speaker Series. We had roughly 50 people attend the event.
Full write-up of the event attached below.

Serving UIF as a Guide (May 2019-Present)

Since graduating from Elon in May 2019, I have guided 5 cohorts of fellows from 3 different universities through the same design thinking training that I went through.

I continue to serve UIF because it allows me to help guide servant leaders who can envision, organize, and execute a plan of action by collaborating with members of their community - lessons fundamental to solving the world's biggest issues.

I challenge students to think critically, act intentionally, and fail fast. I make myself available for each member of the cohort long after training to continue to mentor and guide them in any way that I can.

Impact Delivered as a Guide (May 2019-December 2022)

The cohorts I've helped guide have executed the following projects:

• Fall 2019 Elon University Cohort - interview-style podcasts where students speak with local I&E leaders in their community

• Fall 2020 Elon University Cohort - new student organization called "Link Coordinators" where upperclassmen connect underclassmen to extracurricular activities and peer-to-peer mentorship opportunities

• Fall 2020 James Madison University Cohort - student developed tutorials of online tools (i.e. Discord, Slack, Mural) that professors can learn from/implement in-class to make remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic more engaging

• Fall 2021 Hollins University Cohort - design thinking curriculum for first-year student seminars to expose students across all disciplines to innovation & entrepreneurship

• Fall 2021 James Madison University Cohort - new maker/creative space on campus for students to come build community and break things

Full UIF Wiki Bio

Recap of the Inaugural Business + STEM Speaker Series Event

Full Membership Agreement